The healing power of telling your story

I left work one day to see a doctor and discovered I had strep throat. He asked me if I went to church anywhere and I was attending a church where he knew the names of 2 couples. He wrote their names on a perscription and told me to meet them and tell them he sent me. The couple invited me to their house church and gave me the message of salvation through Jesus Christ. Six months later I attended another church fellowship where the presence of God was so strong like I had never felt before. During the time of worship I remembered saying in my heart that Jesus is God's Son, He died and rose from the dead and I believed. Instantly, God's Holy Spirit was conceived inside of my spirit and I was born again by the Spirit of God. I had joy and peace that I had been searching for all my life. I felt His love flow in me like liquid honey, love that I had never known before.

A few years later I met a French Canadian man who also went to the same church fellowship. We became good friends. He played guitar and we sang together a lot. A year and a half later we were married. Almost 7 years later our first child arrived. One day (when she was 2) she came to me and said, ‘mommy I don't like you.' and I said, ‘why' and she said, ‘because you're sad.' This awakened me and made me realize I couldn't hide from the woundedness of childhood I carried in my soul. This began my inward journey of healing and restoration.

I had 2 miscarriages and then our son was born 4-1/2 years after our daughter. When our daughter was 4 and in Sunday school, I was asked to teach her age group. This was the beginning of my journey with children. I followed the curriculum and learned through other teachers and mentors. When my daughter was going into grade 2 we moved. I couldn't get her into the school I had chosen until the following year so I home schooled her for grade 2. It was a great challenge learning how to home school a strong willed child. During that year I networked with a few other moms and I purchased a curriculum called: Sing, Spell, Read and Write which I used to tutor her in. When my children reached high school I began looking for children to tutor. I put notices up on bulletin boards in a few schools in the neighborhood. I had a few students short term and one day an Asian lady called and the rest is history. I tutored her daughter who was struggling in school and gave her self-esteem and self-worth so she could learn. I then tutored her brother several years later. I received so much joy doing this and it wasn't until my forties that I knew my calling was to teach children. I have no degree but lots of experience over the years; just a love for children and the love of reading as an avenue to explore and adventure the world.